A Bureaucratic Look at Turkey

The EU progress report on the situation in Turkey ignores the current crisis in the Kurdish region. In this respect it seems unrealistic. But it is these prosaic tactics that enable negotiations to progress, writes Daniela Schröder

Turkey urgently needs to move more quickly on political reforms, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn demanded when presenting his report in Brussels. In particular, the paragraph on the so-called insult to Turkishness must immediately be abolished or changed, he said. Only then could the EU accession negotiations begin in the crucial political sphere of the justice system and fundamental rights.

"In a European democracy it is not acceptable for writers, journalists or other citizens to be persecuted for expressing their opinions critically but non-violently," Rehn emphasized. The now-notorious Article 301 has long been a thorn in the side of the EU. Brussels is skeptical as to whether new head of state Abdullah Gül's most recent promises of reform will prevent possible proceedings against critical intellectuals in future.

Overall, the annual EU reform laments the stagnation of reform in Turkey. The crisis centering on the new president was a difficult time, said Rehn, praising the fact that the "political upheaval" was resolved democratically. Now, however, the issue at hand is to revive the reforms. Along with more freedom of opinion, the commission demanded that Turkey provide equal rights for women and children, unions and the country's Christians.

Kurds and the PKK – an awkward subject

In addition, the supreme EU authority asked that the Ankara government put the powerful army in its place, politically speaking. And the Kurds, making up Turkey's largest ethnic minority with 15 million people, must be given "full rights and freedoms".

In view of the attacks by Kurdish rebels in Northern Iraq, these demands came in the midst of a critical situation. Rehn did not want to speculate on how Turkish military action against the fighters of Kurdistan's Workers' Party could affect the EU accession process. A clear statement could be awkward, given that the PKK is classified as a terrorist organization not only by Turkey and the USA, but by the EU as well.

Seemingly insensitive EU bureaucracy

At a time when people in Turkey feel threatened by terrorists, the commission's report with its long list of complaints about major and minor problems in the candidate country seemed out of place.

But the EU bureaucracy's seemingly insensitive lack of up-to-dateness has its own logic. Explosive subjects such as conflicts and war play no role when the progress of reforms is being examined on the long path to the EU, as experts on the process say.

Thus Finnish Enlargement Commissioner Rehn is focusing on business as usual. In the weeks to come he will address an unproblematic chapter of the negotiations, regarding health and consumer protection and trans-European transportation and energy networks. Over the past year dialogues have begun in only four of 33 areas. Over the same period of time, candidate country Croatia has already covered 14 chapters.

Exclusive hurdles for Turkey

Since October 2005 the EU and Turkey have been negotiating an accession that is regarded as unlikely to take place before 2020. The mutual goal of the negotiations is full membership. However, Turkey will not automatically accede even if it fulfills all the criteria. At the end of the negotiations, another factor will also be whether the EU can cope with the accession economically and politically.

These two hurdles confronting the heavily Muslim country are faced by none of the other EU candidates for accession. Within the EU there is a wide range of opinion on Turkey's accession. While Great Britain and Sweden, in particular, advocate the continuation of negotiations, French president Nicolas Sarkozy argues for discussions with an open outcome.

Some EU states suspect that Sarkozy intends to use an expert commission on the future of the EU which he has planned for December to get a recommendation against Turkey's accession. Privileged partnership instead of full membership – that would suit the German conservatives as well.

Fickle Europe and proud Ankara

"Turkey is a very proud country; if its accession were vetoed, it would reject a close partnership with the EU", says Katinka Barysch, Vice Director and Turkey expert at the London Centre for European Reform (CER). Ankara's interest has abated in any case due to Europe's failure to speak with one voice, she points out; the EU negotiations are not the main issue at this time.

Supporters of accession within the EU fear that Turkey may lose its patience at some point. But, they argue, the country is too important for the aging, energy-hungry EU to slam the door in its face. At the same time, Turkey's geopolitical situation evokes mixed feelings in the EU. While some speak of its bridge function to the Muslim world, others warn of the numerous conflicts plaguing the country's neighbors.

"The EU must finally put an end to the ambiguity, it must say loud and clear how it stands on Turkey's accession," says Barysch. But at this time Brussels has no answer to the central question of whether the EU states want the country to accede at all. Sober bureaucratic progress reports seem to be the best way to keep the tedious accession process alive at all.

Daniela Schröder

Daniela Schröder works as a freelance EU correspondent in Brussels.

Translated from the German by Isabel Cole

Qantara.de

EU Positions on Turkey's Membership
Negotiations in the Freezer
Views on Turkey's EU membership bid are still widely divergent in many European countries and in all political parties. Daniela Schröder summarizes the various European positions

Accession Negotiations in Crisis
Will Turkey Find Its Way to Europe?
At the close of 2006, the EU commission presented its progress report on Turkey's accession to the EU, identifying the country's achievements as well as failures. Andreas Marchetti reports on the background and prospects of the negotiations

Dossier
Turkey and Europe
Few political issues are as contested as Turkey's possible accession to the European Union. Will Ankara be able to meet all the criteria in the long term? In our dossier, sponsored by the Ernst Reuter Initiative, we take a look at political, societal and cultural relations between Turkey and Europe